Life often presents us with situations where we have to speak in public. Good public speaking skills are important and enable people to make advancements in their academics and careers.
Poor speaking skills can prove to be disastrous to one’s reputation and work. Common speaking goofs made include: speaking in a dull voice, stuttering and stammering, neglecting the use of body language, speaking too quickly and grammatical errors. Here are some ways to avoid goofs when making presentations.
1. Proper planning
Good planning is the key to perfection. Before making a presentation you ought to plan and prepare so as to be well coordinated. Planning is also required for impromptu speeches, not just scheduled ones. Organize your ideas and note them down in simple point form. Planning helps you be ready for unpredictable questions you may face, in case you’re presenting at an interview.
2. Practice prior to your presentation
Practice helps boost your confidence. It also helps in perfecting your grammar so you end up making a perfect speech with no errors. Practicing in front of a mirror is a great tip if you have any scheduled public speaking presentations. Try practicing in front of your friends, this will help get rid of fear to face the audience. Friends also correct and fine tune your speech. Practicing also enables you to memorize your speech, hence you do not read word for word from the cue cards.
3. Be confident when speaking
Confidence makes you comfortable with your audience. Mastering confidence ensures you do not stammer, are audible and own the stage. A confident speaker is guaranteed to deliver a satisfying speech. Confidence portrays the speaker as knowledgeable and well versed in the topic. Think positively to help boost your confidence for success of your communication
4. Pay attention to body language
Posture and gestures are part of your speech delivery. Your audience can tell if you’re nervous from your body language. When presenting stand up straight, maintain eye contact with your audience, walk around, use appropriate gestures and smile.
To avoid mistakes when speaking in public plan properly, practice your speech, be confident and use appropriate body language.
